Chandigarh, January 5: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab unit president and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann on Friday said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Punjab visit proved to be a virtual damp squib “as expected” as it brought no cheer to the people of Punjab, especially the distressed farming community and the youth.
Mann accused Modi who, in league with the Badals, was playing politics over the 1984 riots and the ground-breaking Kartarpur corridor ceremony, only to distract people’s attention from the core issues the state was confronted with.
“As expected, Modi’s Punjab visit turned out to be mere jumla as it failed to bring any cheer on the faces of the distressed farmers in terms of announcing loan waivers, leaving them with choice but to commit suicides. Similarly, on the issue of employment generation in the state, he preferred to keep mum, leaving the farmers and the youth disappointed,” said Mann.
He said that the much-hyped visit ended up in just an allegation and counter-allegation session, digressing from the core issue faced by the state.
Mann said that Modi was playing politics on the nerve-chilling 1984 Sikh carnage. “What is holding the Prime Minister, who accused the Congress party of installing a tainted leader and an accused in the Kamal Nath case as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, to take action against him,” asked Mann while accused Modi of double-speak on the issue.
“The long-pending demand for the grant of special package to the people of border areas at par with some hill states of the countries remained on the back-burner during the tenure of the Modi-led dispensation,” said Mann.
He said that another long-standing issue for the grant of compensation for the land beyond the fencing area on the border villages did not catch Modi’s fancy during his visit to the area and his long speech, leaving the entire beneficiaries, who were battling many local issues, in a quandary.
Source Daily Pioneer